The 2018 awards season has officially kicked off and with it will come a handful of celebrity beauty looks to fawn over and add to our Pinterest board. Emilia Clarke, who plays the always fierce Daenerys on “Game of Thrones” is already an early favorite, thanks to a pair of stunning appearances at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.

This week, the British beauty took a moment to shout out her dedicated glam squad, who will no doubt be putting in serious work this month and beyond. One of those people, makeup artist Jillian Dempsey, has already dished on the tricks she’s using to make sure Emilia is always ready for the flashing lights. And the one she just shared with ELLE is incredibly useful, even for those of us who aren’t being bombarded by cameras on the red carpet.

Bold lipstick is one of her favorite products to incorporate into a look, but it isn’t without its challenges; especially in unpredictable weather. So instead of simply swiping it on and hoping for the best, she preps her client’s pout in between a moisturizing balm and the lip color.

‘When I am working on an actress and place a lip balm on first for prep (before I apply the lip), ” she said, “I always use a blotting paper to take off any excess balm, so that it’s a clean lip to paint the colour on.”

The trick, which she used on Emilia’s lips just before the Golden Globes, is what better seals in the color and prevents it from smearing outside the lip line. Blotting papers are a godsend for oily skin and now we’ll be keeping a pack near our lipstick collection, too.